Battered by erosion and facing global warming, some places are moving back from the sea. After futile attempts to curb coastal erosion – a problem expected to grow worse with rising seas fueled by global warming – there is growing acknowledgment that the sea is relentless, and any line drawn in the sand is likely to eventually wash over. [News Source]

The fading Arizona town of Gila Bend bets big on solar. Every single solar plant slated for the California Mojave since 2008 has been hit with some kind of lawsuit. But in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, none of those concerns seem to matter. The trick now is to find a way to connect southwestern Arizona's ideal solar land with green-electron-hungry California. [News Source]

Natural gas: Shale of the century. The "golden age of gas" could be cleaner than greens think. Yet, without a serious effort to boost renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies, the IEA envisages warming of over 3.5°C. That could be unaffordable. [News Source]

Anticipating Rio +20. This year, governments are pushing hard to make Rio +20 more productive than previous environmental summits. Is there a way to reframe the climate treaty so that it's about development instead of pollution control? [News Source]

Harper, Tory MPs challenge Peter Kent on climate science, letters indicate. While scientists and environmentalists criticize him for doing little to fight climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent also has been questioned by his Conservative party colleagues about whether the scientific evidence is real and requires a government response. [News Source]

Wesfarmers warns on carbon tax price rises. The introduction of the $9 billion carbon tax could send shockwaves through the food manufacturing sector, after the nation's most powerful retailer warned yesterday that it would challenge proposed price increases from its suppliers and would resist passing the cost of the new tax on to consumers. [News Source]

We have only one Earth. The fifth of June is World Environment Day. So what’s the big deal? Media campaigns, green walks, street rallies, distribution and planting of saplings, slogan writing and painting contests, strings of functions and speeches – what impact does it have on people like us? [News Source]

Politics of red, white and green. It was interesting while it lasted. But it looks like the “green revolution” has entered the long slide into “What was all that about?” In Europe and America alike, voters increasingly recognize that the benefits of the green revolution aren’t worth the costs. [News Source]

Battered by erosion and facing global warming, some places are moving back from the sea. After futile attempts to curb coastal erosion – a problem expected to grow worse with rising seas fueled by global warming – there is growing acknowledgment that the sea is relentless, and any line drawn in the sand is likely to eventually wash over. [News Source]

The fading Arizona town of Gila Bend bets big on solar. Every single solar plant slated for the California Mojave since 2008 has been hit with some kind of lawsuit. But in Arizona's Sonoran Desert, none of those concerns seem to matter. The trick now is to find a way to connect southwestern Arizona's ideal solar land with green-electron-hungry California. [News Source]

Natural gas: Shale of the century. The "golden age of gas" could be cleaner than greens think. Yet, without a serious effort to boost renewable energy and other low-carbon technologies, the IEA envisages warming of over 3.5°C. That could be unaffordable. [News Source]